Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear, this one you'll save
by elle-mae-xx
Summary: CO-WRITTEN WITH FAEMELODY Rachel and Eddie have been married ever since she got the position as Headteacher of Waterloo Road, but that doesn't stop Stuart Hordley from trying to get exactly what he wants using the information he knows. Only, Rachel decided to leave that part of her part out when telling Eddie about her past, and it's all about to blow up in her face.


"Tell me, Rachel! What is it that Hordley knows?" Eddie insisted angrily. She shook her head, feeling sick as she desperately tried to think of a way out of this. "Tell me!"

"Eddie… don't…" she pleaded.

"What the hell are you hiding?"

"Please…" she whispered, knowing there were tears in her eyes but unable to stop them.

He was beyond the point of caring, slamming his hands down on her desk. "TELL ME!"

"I CAN'T!" she screamed back. Only her voice broke, a sob escaping as one hand held her upright, fingers shaking uncontrollably. It seemed to knock some sense into him, because he made a concerted effort to reign his temper in, lowering his voice.

"Why not?" he demanded, angry undertones still audible.

"Because… because if I tell you… when you know," her voice cracked again on the final word, cheeks wet with tears, "you won't love me anymore, Eddie."

"What?" he was brought up short, blinking in astonishment. "That would never happen-,"

"Yes, it would," she interrupted quietly. "You wouldn't be able to love me. And I can't-," she choked, unable to finish as she shook with sobs, one hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Rachel…"

"Please." She looked up at him, eyes beseeching. "Eddie, love, I'm begging you. Please, please don't ask me to tell you. Please just forget this."

He stared at her in shock. In all the time he'd known her, he had never heard Rachel beg before, certainly not like this. She was looking up at him, broken and utterly distraught and the knowledge that he'd caused it felt like a knife was twisting in his chest.

But he couldn't let this go, he knew. This would sit between them, eating away at their relationship, possibly until it destroyed them and he would not let that happen. Slowly, attempting not to startle her, he came around the desk to kneel in front of her, reaching out to cup her cheeks and swipe away her tears with his thumb. "Rachel, I love you," he whispered, and she closed her eyes. "That will never change."

She was already shaking her head. "Please…" it was almost a whimper.

"You can't sweep this away, darling. Can you honestly pretend today never happened?"

"Yes!"

He captured her hand, pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Well, I can't," he said frankly. "Rachel, you know everything about me, about my past. I've never pushed you about yours, maybe I should have. Whatever it is, whatever Hordley found out? It could never change how I feel about you."

She moved forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly from her seat. He could feel her tears leaking into his shirt, felt her trembling against him as she buried her face in his neck.

When she drew back, it was to kiss him, softly and sweetly and all too brief. She was looking at him, studying him as her fingers traced his jaw, committing every part of him to memory. He stared back in confusion, wondering what she was doing. She couldn't stop herself from dipping forward again to brush her lips against his mouth, fresh tears escaping as she rested her forehead against his.

He was baffled, about to question her until the realisation hit him, and he felt like he'd been hit by a bus.

She was saying goodbye.

"Rachel?"

She felt like her heart was breaking, unsure of exactly where she found the strength to draw back from him, breaking their connection. "Please?" she tried one last time, begging him to reconsider. But he shook his head.

"Tell me."

She gasped for air, pushing back and turning her chair away, unable to look at him as she spoke. The thought crossed her mind that she could lie, could hide the truth… but the thought made her nauseous, even more than she already was and she owed her husband more than that, she knew. Had always owed him more than she could give. She closed her eyes, roughly wiping her face with the back of her finger before she dropped her head into her hands. There were a few beats of silence, her tongue too thick and heavy for her mouth and when she began to speak, it was if the words were coming from a distance. "When… when I was seventeen, I… I wasn't in a good place. And there was this girl, I thought she was my friend. She told me she was helping me, and I… I was young enough and stupid enough to believe her. She… had this way of making money, more money in one night than I'd ever had in my life. And by the time I… I realised… I was already in too deep. I couldn't… I was trapped, and-," she broke off, throat closing up. Eddie reached out, intending to comfort her but the second his hand touched her she flinched away, so violently that he snatched his hand back.

"Rachel…?"

She hadn't said it, she realised. He still didn't know. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, fingers gripping the desk so hard she was sure her knuckles were white. "I was a prostitute," she said quickly, spitting the words as if that would make it easier. She heard the small movements behind her cease, knew that her husband had frozen where he stood. Her heart ached. "For two years," she choked out. "Before I managed to get out. That's what Hordley has on me. An article, complete with a picture. I was arrested as part of a police operation… his secretary knew me back then, recognised me. That's what he knows. That's what I've been hiding."

She'd heard of the phrase 'suffocating silence' before, but had never actually understood what it meant until that moment. Eddie didn't move, she couldn't even hear him breath and she didn't dare raise her head, couldn't bear to see his expression at that moment. They were frozen, neither moving, barely breathing.

Until the shriek of a phone pierced the air. Rachel's hand shot out, lifting it and slamming it back into the cradle, heart thumping as she stared at her hand on the receiver, not having consciously moved it. Everything was blurry, she noted, and blinked away the tears in her eyes as she slowly allowed her hand to drop onto her lap.

She risked a single glance up, and felt her heart break even further. Eddie was gazing at her as if he didn't recognise her, horror and shock etched onto his features. A sob choked her, and she hadn't even realised that she'd hunched in on herself, arms wrapping around her. Slowly, Eddie stepped back once, then twice, before without a word he turned and left the room.

She felt her lips twist bitterly. "Told you so…" she whispered, more to herself than anything. And stopped attempting to hold back her tears.

When she thought about it later, she would never remember how quite a long time later, she'd pulled herself together enough to gather her things and leave the school, keeping her head ducked to hide the state of her face (what she wasn't remembering was that it was the middle of a period, and everyone was either in class or comfortably hunkered down somewhere). She didn't remember driving home, nor making a conscious decision about what to do next. She did recall, however, heading straight upstairs and coming to a stop in their bedroom, throat closing up at the sight of their bed, mussed and skewed from the night before.

A night she'd never have again.

She gasped in a desperate breath and grabbed a bag from the top of the wardrobe, throwing clothes into it without much thought, adding toiletries and her phone charger on top. She paused, however, when the top of the chest of drawers caught her eye- there were three pictures on it: one of Michael and Stephen as babies, one of her and Eddie with Michael in front of the Christmas tree the previous year, and one from their wedding.

It wasn't even a professional picture- Phillip had taken it, of all people, gifting it to them soon after. They hadn't even known he'd snapped it. She and Eddie were sat close together, one of her hands clasped in both of his on their laps, both laughing softly at something she didn't even remember now. Her other hand had come up to gently touch his cheek, and the evening sun had bathed them in a golden glow, glinting off the copper highlights in her hair and the new rings on their fingers. It was by far her favourite picture.

She placed it in the bag without allowing herself to think about it too much, carefully sandwiching it between two tops for protection. And then she was swinging the bag over her shoulder, descending back downstairs to grab a pen and a paper; for a moment, she considered writing a full letter, explaining, telling him everything or maybe nothing at all, but she suspected he would throw it away without reading it. And in the end, everything she wanted to say boiled down to something very simple. She wrote it out, left the paper on the table where he couldn't miss seeing it, and made sure to lock the door behind her.

Her memory grew sketchy again from there. She had driven away, and carried on driving until her vision had blurred to the point she could no longer see and she finally conceded to pulling over, rested her head on the steering wheel as she shook with sobs.

Eventually, though, she had cried herself out and it was only then she lifted her head, realising she had no clue where she was. She had apparently made it far enough that she had left civilisation, and was now surrounded only by fields and the occasional tree. Wonderful.

She felt awful as well, and rummaged around in the glove box in the hopes of finding water. There wasn't any, but when she checked her bag she found that she'd tossed some wipes in there, and could at least clean the makeup off of her face.

It was half an hour later before she found signs for a main road, and another twenty before she actually reached it, by which point her petrol situation was dangerously low. But the station that she found had a small rest stop attached to it, consisting mostly of a few picnic tables and bin, and she sat at one, stared out over the moors and called just about the only person left who at this point, probably wouldn't judge her.

"Mel?"

"Hey sis!" the chipper greeting almost had her wishing she hadn't called. "How's tricks?"

Tears clogged her throat. She had thought that at this point, she wouldn't have anything left in her to cry but was rapidly being proved wrong.

"Rach?"

"Mel, I've really screwed things up," she whispered.

"What's happened? Are you okay?"

"Eddie… he knows, Mel. About… me, my past."

There was a pause. "Shite." Which summed it up quite nicely, Rachel thought, a tad hysterically. "What the bloody hell did you tell him for?" Mel questioned.

She snorted out a bitter, tearful laugh. "I didn't have much of a choice." She explained what had happened, how Hordley had pushed and how Eddie had too. Mel was silent for a long moment.

"Shite," she repeated, and there was a sound in the background, as if she'd flopped backwards onto something. "What did Eddie say?"

"He didn't say anything. God, Mel, the look on his face…"

For once, Melissa was lost for words. "He loves you, Rach," she settled on, only to receive a choking noise in return.

"Not anymore."

"Rachel…"

"He doesn't, Mel. How could he? I should never have married him."

Now, she bolted upright. "That's rubbish and you know it!" she scolded. "You and he are perfect together, he adores you!"

She could practically hear her sister shaking her head. "I should have known," she said in a pained voice. "This couldn't last, it was too good. I should have run away after that first date, I should never have let myself love him."

"You don't mean that."

"Don't I?" she was crying again, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I've been so stupid. This was such a mistake. All I've done is hurt the both of us."

"Rach, where are you?"

She laughed again, bitter and hysterical. "I have absolutely no idea. Middle of bloody nowhere, I think."

"Rachel…" her sister sounded more than a little worried. "I'm in London, but I can be on a plane as soon as? Just tell me where you are."

"I really don't know, Mel. I just drove. Don't come, Phil has school."

"He's a big boy, he'll manage for a few days."

"No," Rachel shook her head, despite that fact Mel couldn't see her. "I'm okay, stay where you are."

"You're not okay, Rachel, listen to me. Go home, talk to Eddie."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can!"

"No, I really can't Mel." Fresh tears fell, but she had given up on wiping them away. "I can't hear him say it. I'm not strong enough for that."

"Maybe he'll surprise you."

"You didn't see his face," she denied miserably. "He… trust me, he'll never want to see me again, and I can't say I blame him."

"Rach…"

"I'll resign in the morning, effective immediately," she decided, almost talking to herself. "Hopefully they'll give him the headship, make it less jarring for the students."

"Rachel!"

"Don't Rachel me, Melissa. I know what I'm what doing."

"I'm not sure you do! Please, just… don't do anything while you're this upset. You'll regret it."

She huffed a sad laugh. "What's one more thing to add to the list?"

"Rachel…"

"Don't worry about me, Mel. I saw a pub up the road with accommodation attached- I'll stay there tonight. Sorry for dumping on you. I love you."

"Don't you dare hang up, Rachel Lawson!"

The click of the line told her she was speaking to empty air, and Melissa looked at the handset for a long moment, before tossing it in front of her. "Shite."

Melissa scrolled through her contacts and found Eddie's name, clicking on it with the intent to ring him. However, at the same moment, he seemed to have the same idea. She accepted the call immediately, wary of what was greeting her on the other line.

"Please tell me you've heard from her." Eddie's voice broke, the emotion evident as he spoke. "Even if she's with you, just tell me that she's safe." He practically begged, and Melissa's heart broke at the sound.

"Eddie, calm down." She tried, but felt immediate regret as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Calm down?" Eddie boomed, not able to hold back on his anger. It wasn't Melissa he was angry at per-say, but he also wasn't able to pinpoint the exact reason for his current outburst. "My wife just up and left me, after deciding to drop possibly the biggest bombshell. She did even let me reply Mel, she just left." His anger left him immediately, only to be replaced by an overwhelming feeling of heartache. It hurt him to his core to know that Rachel hadn't told him, but it hurt even more that she hadn't even given him the chance to reply. She had expected the worst, and left before giving him even a few seconds to process the revelation.

Melissa wished that Rachel was in front of her, so she could give her sister a good shake. This poor man had promised her the world and delivered on that every single day since they exchanged vows, and Rachel hadn't even allowed him a few seconds before assuming the worst. It was her worst trait, and had gotten her into many sticky situations in the past. "I'm so sorry Eddie. I've spoken to her.."

"So she's not there?" Eddie cut her off, raking his brain to where she could have gone. They never argued, but on the odd occasion that it had happened, she had escaped to Melissa's for the night.

"No Eddie, she wouldn't tell me but she sounded distraught." She wondered how much information to divulge, torn between breaking the trust that Rachel had put in her by telling her but wanting to do what she could to save her sisters marriage. "She thinks you hate her, she even mentioned quitting her job. And you know how much she loves that place."

Her words caused Eddie to stop in his tracks, halt his pacing and have to take a seat. "I don't understand Melissa. She didn't give me time to process anything. Why did she just leave?" Eddie felt like a complete and utter failure. He had always promised to love and support Rachel, no matter the obstacles they faced. Granted, it was a rather large secret that she had told him and he had needed a moment to digest the news, but he meant what he said when he told her that nothing could ever stop him from loving her. Did he wish Rachel had told him from the beginning? Of course. But that was because he wished he had been prepared for the likes of Stuart turning up and making comments about his wife that he knew nothing about.

"You know her Eddie, better than anyone." Melissa tried to reason, knowing the turmoil that Eddie must be feeling. "She's scared, and when she's scared, she runs. Don't you remember what happened the first time you told her you loved her?"

Eddie couldn't help the smile, of course he remembered it. The words had slipped out as they lay in bed, bodies entwined as they discussed a simple matter that had been taking place at work. He had been playing with her hair and watching her talk about the students so fiercely, with so much emotion and love evident in her voice, that he hadn't been able to help it. Rachel's walls came up immediately, and she'd jumped from the bed as if she had been laying on lava. Eddie watched in a state of shock as she dressed herself, and threw him an apology as she left the room before he had even gathered his thoughts enough to move and follow her. It had taken him over 3 hours to find her.

"Oh my god, Mel. You've got it. I know where she is, thanks!" Eddie ended the call and immediately set off for his car. He had promised Rachel until death do they part, and he was damn well sure that he was going to keep up with his end of the bargain.

Melissa wondered exactly how she'd helped, but let out a sigh of relief that she had been able to assist in any way. She just hoped Eddie wasn't too late. She knew how her sister could get when she got an idea in her mind, and many beforehand had both tried and failed to change that.

Eddie drove out of Rochdale with little heed of the speed limit, ignoring the small voice in the back of his head telling him this was pointless. He knew Rachel- she ran, and she ran to open space because she couldn't ever bear to feel trapped. He had an advantage as well- he'd filled up her car with petrol last week, knew how much she would have had left and for a maths teacher, it was all too easy to find the sole two stations she could have stopped at. Naturally, it was the second one where the boy behind the counter recognised his description, and told him the direction she'd driven off in.

It was pure luck that he spotted her car.

It was parked in a tiny village, in the car park of a pub, although judging by the sign it was also a restaurant and had accommodation. He braked hard, grateful there hadn't been anyone behind him and reversed slightly to pull into the car park, half jogging across it to duck inside. There were a few people in there, but none were his wife. "What'll it be?" the woman behind the bar questioned, looking up at him.

"Sorry, I'm actually looking for someone," he explained. "She might be renting a room here?"

The woman's gaze instantly became wary. "Well, why don't you give her a call?"

"Because she's stubborn and has turned her phone off," he said dryly, but quickly snapped out of it. "Please- her name's Rachel. Rachel Lawson. About your height, late thirties, pretty."

Her expression immediately changed, and she looked at him appraisingly. "You'd be the husband then?"

Relief flooded through him, almost knocking him off of his feet and sending him stumbling forward to grip the bar for support. "She's here?" he checked hopefully, and she nodded slowly.

"Aye. Seems to be under the impression you never want to see her again."

He shook his head slightly, heart thumping wildly. "Where is she?"

She studied him for a moment. "She's staying in room 3," she said eventually. "But you might have better luck out back."

He couldn't feel his legs, and was hit by the realisation that he had no clue what he was actually going to say to his wife. "Thank you…"

"You'd better not be here to hurt that girl," she pointed at him warningly. "Poor thing cried non-stop for an hour out there, and the only reason she didn't drown herself in alcohol is because I refused to serve her more than a glass. And the whole time she won't hear a word against you. So if you're here to break her heart further…" she trailed off pointedly.

Irritation flicked through him at her interference, but he clamped down on it, silently reminding himself that she meant no harm. "I'm not," he replied, a little stiffly. "Excuse me." He headed in the direction she'd gestured at, stepping down into a crooked stone corridor that housed two doors to the bathrooms, another that he guessed was probably a storeroom and finally, a fourth at the end which led into garden, decorated only by a couple of picnic tables. And there, at the very end, perched on the furthest one, was Rachel.

He gripped the wall to keep himself upright at the emotions swirling through him. Her back was to him, but he could see she was hunched over, as small as possible with her hair blowing slightly in the breeze. Almost silently he walked up towards her, drawing close enough to see she was playing with the wedding band on her finger. She didn't turn around when she heard his footsteps approach. "I'm okay, Angela. You don't have to keep checking on me."

"Someone has to. You forget to eat otherwise."

She audibly gasped, spinning to face him and lurching to her feet all in a split second. She stared at him in shock, wide eyes and looking for all the world like a rabbit about to bolt. Eddie shoved his hands into his pockets, drinking the sight of her in; his stomach turned uncomfortably at the exhaustion lining her face, her eyes slightly red with the aftermath of her crying, he assumed. Those same eyes were now fixed on him, her whole body tense.

For a long moment, neither spoke. But then Eddie sighed, shifting his weight and pinned her with a look. "You should have told me sooner."

"I know." her voice cracked, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Why didn't you, Rach?"

Her face contorted, eyes welling up. "Because I never wanted you to know."

He clamped down on the rush of anger, struggling to modify his tone. "I'm your husband."

"That's why I didn't want you to know!" she cried, eyes beseeching him to understand. "Because what I did, what I was… Eddie, I'm ashamed of it. I never wanted you to know that part of me. And because I couldn't bear for you, of all people, to look at me the way you did earlier!"

She turned away, hands coming up to cover her face. He rocked on his heels indecisively, torn between stepping forward to take her in his arms and hashing this out properly. "I was surprised, Rachel," he said quietly. "Of all things in the world I thought you might say, that hadn't even crossed my mind."

She was silent, for so long he was about to say something else when she turned to look at him, weariness written in every line of her face and tears wet on her cheeks. "Why are you here?" she asked tiredly.

"What'd you mean, why am I here? My wife dropped a bombshell on me then vanished with only a note. I was worried!" now, anger did leak into his voice. She swallowed thickly.

"I didn't think you'd want to ever see me again," she confessed. "And leaving was easier than hearing you say that."

"Is that what you think?" he questioned incredulously. "That I'd throw our entire relationship down the drain over something that happened twenty years ago?" the expression on her face said it all, and his stomach lurched yet again. "Rachel…" he stepped forward, reaching out but froze when she made a small movement that wasn't quite a flinch, but wasn't far from it. "Rach," he tried again, softening his tone. "I'm not going to pretend this is something I can just digest and accept and sweep under the rug. But you're my wife. This isn't going to end our marriage."

She was already shaking her head. "Don't, please don't… I can't…"

Now, he moved too fast for her to protest, wrapping his arms around her waist. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to pull away, but he caught a hold of her with one arm, using the other to gently cup her face. "Rachel, look at me- look at me! I love you!" she stilled, gazing at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "I love you," he repeated. "Your past isn't going to change that."

"But... what I did…"

"Doesn't change anything," he said again, gently, thumb wiping away the tears.

She crumpled into him, crying softly as her fingers fisted in his jacket. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" this was repeated over and over as he held her tightly, almost enough to bruise. They clutched at each other desperately, neither pulling away even as the light began to die and the breeze picked up and the noise from the pub behind them grew louder and louder. The door banged open, causing them both to jump, and a small group spilled out, immediately lighting up cigarettes as they laughed and joked. Rachel had grown stiff in Eddie's arm, turning her face away to hide it.

"Let's go inside," he suggested softly and she nodded silently, leading him back in to the little room where she had dumped her things earlier. It was cosy, he noted, and comfortable, with its wooden furniture and old-fashioned quilt. Rachel immediately grabbed a thicker cardigan and shrugged it on in place of the thin one she had had, while Eddie stripped off his jacket and lowered himself onto the bed. Rachel looked uncharacteristically hesitant as she picked at the hem of her sleeves, before she took a seat on the bed with a large space between them. He hadn't realised how much he wanted her to slide on next to him as she would have before, close enough to touch instead of with this gulf between them. She still looked tired, but with no makeup and pink cheeks from the wind, her sleeves covering her hands, she looked younger, more vulnerable. He could only imagine how she must have looked at seventeen- his heart ached, because the kids at school were seventeen and half the time he thought they were practically babies, and how the hell had she survived and become what she was now?

Once again, he felt like someone had punched him. Because… he wasn't angry at her, he'd realised. He wasn't happy about the lying, but he wasn't angry about the contents of the lie. He was angry that it had happened, that her father hadn't cared, that a teacher hadn't realised what was happening and stepped in, that someone had seen a vulnerable girl and seen an opportunity to use her instead of helping her.

"Eddie?"

Her tentative voice woke him up and he realised he'd been staring at her for far too long, and she was beginning to look concerned. "Sorry. Miles away."

She shifted, practically wringing her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry," she said abruptly.

"You said that," he pointed out jokingly, but she didn't so much as smile.

"No, Eddie. I'm sorry. I should have told you- I should never have married you without you knowing everything."

He winced, knowing she didn't mean to sound like she regretted but sort of hearing that anyway. "I understand, Rach."

She stared at him. "What?"

"I understand. Why you didn't want me to know, why you kept quiet. I get it."

"You… you do?"

She sounded so bewildered, so disbelieving and hopeful. "Yes," he emphasised. "Come here." He shifted closer to her, reaching out and she took his hand seemingly without registering she was doing it, sliding towards him until they were pressed together. "Sweetheart, I won't pretend I wasn't shocked," he murmured, bringing her chin up so that she was looking at him. "But I meant what I said- there is nothing in this world that will stop me from loving you. From wanting to be your husband."

She gazed at him, tears welling up in her eyes until she wrapped her arm around his neck and embraced him tightly, her tears soaking into the collar of his shirt. She didn't say anything- neither needed to, not about this. They simply held each other, until Rachel had stopped shaking and Eddie no longer felt as if she would disappear if he let go.

Finally, she pulled away, swiping at her face self-consciously. "I am so sick of crying," she half-laughed, and he gave her the desired grin. "I'll be right back." She vanished into the small bathroom, closing the door behind her and Eddie flopped backwards so that he was lying across the bed, staring upwards. He had meant every word he said, but that didn't stop him from feeling queasy when he thought of what his wife had had to do to survive when she was basically still a child. He was sure of one thing though- the feeling he'd had when he came home and found her gone was one he never wanted to feel again.

She re-entered, face freshly scrubbed and her hair tied back. Without otherwise moving he held his hand out to her, and when she took it he brought her in to lay against him, holding her close. Her hand came to rest over his heart, and she closed her eyes, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that this hadn't been taken from her. "Rach?" he murmured, looking down at her. "Will you tell me all of it?" She eyed at him warily. "Tell me," he confirmed. "Let me understand."

So she did. She told him of her dead mother and borderline abusive father, the strain of practically raising her sister. The events that had culminated in her running away, the offer of a thousand pounds a week and how she hadn't quite realised what she had gotten into until it was too late. She told him of the odd relationship between the girls, how they looked out for each other but would step on another to get a rung higher on the ladder. Of how she attended college in secret, because if anyone had found out she would have been stopped. Her arrest, her realisation that that was her one chance to escape and so how she had fled as soon as she was released, with only a bag of things she couldn't bear to leave behind and a wad of money that had enabled her to change her name and her life. Of the weeks looking over her shoulder, convinced she would be found, of her life at university, how she couldn't let anyone touch her for over a year. She'd always been good with people and she used that to her best advantage, clawing her way to her goals and how she realised that somewhere along the way Rachel Mason had become less of a mask and who she was. She told him how he had been the first man in a very long time that she truly trusted.

When she fell silent, even more exhausted but feeling surprisingly lighter, Eddie took over, telling her about what he'd felt when she told him, his revelation on what he was really angry about. He broke everything down, explaining it as he went and not once letting go of her throughout the whole process.

As the conversation died down, Rachel began to truly feel the weight of what she had done. It's what she had always done before, she ran. But before she didn't have Eddie, before she didn't really have anyone to run from. Sure, she'd ran away from family members. But they kind of had to forgive her, needed to love her one way or another. Eddie was different, he could just leave. One day, he may stop chasing her. The thought shook Rachel to her core, and she let out a sob as her hand covered her mouth. She looked up at Eddie with fresh tears in her eyes, her body shaking at the enormity of the situation. "Eddie, I am so sorry." She admitted honestly, hanging her head in shame as she finally saw the hurt beneath his eyes.

Eddie watched Rachel crumbled before him, and immediately gathered her into his arms. He was angry she had left, furious even. But that didn't mean he wanted her in tears, especially when he took some of the blame himself. If he had been better, if he had reacted better to things in the past, she wouldn't have run at the first moment. "I just want to know Rach, why do you always assume the worst of me?" He admitted quietly, whispering his deepest secret into the deadly silent room. "What have I ever done to make you think I would just up and leave you?" He needed to know the answer, even if it hurt him. Even if it caused his marriage to collapse, he needed to know what he had done to cause his wife so much pain. Marriages get rocky, sure. But it wasn't a normal reaction to bolt to the door and escape to a hotel as soon as things even began to get rough. He needed to know if that was his doing, so he could think of just how to fix it.

Rachel shook her head violently, lifting her head from where it was resting on Eddie's chest and taking his face in her hands. "Don't ever think that! It's not you, it's me... it's all me." Her words broke as she spoke, a lump in her throat stopping her from making any coherent sentences. "We're a family, Eddie. You are everything to me." She felt broken that she even had to clarify this to him, what had she done?

"Do you know how much it hurts me that you think I'll up and leave over something like this?" Still in disbelief, he needed to let Rachel know how hurt and worried he had been. He needed to show her that she couldn't just run off without a trace when things got tough. "I'm your husband Rachel. For better and for worse, I said that. I meant it, I still do. Even more so now."

The tears slid steadily down Rachel's cheeks, wishing she hadn't been so stupid and had stayed to have a conversation rather than do what she always did. She knew Eddie was different, that's what she had told everyone she met about her husband, so why had she tarnished him with the same brush she had with everyone else in her life? "I can't say sorry enough Eddie. I get scared, it's my initial reaction. It's what I've always done... run." She hope he understood, but the look on his face showed her that he wasn't quite there yet.

"We've been through too much to give up now, over something that happened so long ago." He was laying it on thick, but if they were only going to have this conversation once, he was going to make sure everything was laid on the table. She needed to know that this wasn't a normal or healthy reaction to things, and their marriage couldn't survive if it happened again.

"I DONT KNOW EDDIE. OKAY?" Finally, Rachel hit boiling point. She got it, she was in the wrong. "I'm insecure, I run. I expect the worst. I am SORRY!"

Eddie watched on as Rachel exploded, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. There she was, his fierce and wonderful, powerful wife. This was the reaction he wanted. He wanted her to fight, to get angry and argue instead of crumble and hide away.

"Keep it down in there!" They both turned towards the door as someone slammed onto it, shouting through the wood to shut up the voices inside.

Eddie felt like a school child getting told off, and uncharacteristically giggled. "That's your fault." He commented towards Rachel, and just like that, the mood was lifted. They weren't fixed, far from it. But at least now they were in a space in which they could be open and honest about their feelings. Eddie knew Rachel wouldn't run again, at least - he hoped not.

He reached out, tugged on her sleeve to encourage her to lay down with him again. He'd never have admitted it out loud, but he needed the reassurance of having the weight of her against him. She settled into him, fingers twisting slightly in his shirt.

"Mel didn't talk to me for six months," she admitted quietly, breaking the silence.

Confusion washed over him. "What?"

"When she first found out. She'd been nagging me, pushing for me to tell her. I wasn't brave enough to do it in person; I downed a bottle of wine and wrote her a letter. And she refused to talk to me for six months. And then, when she did…" her voice cracked slightly, "it was to tell me that I was disgusting."

The breath whooshed out of him. "Rach…"

"She said that I made her physically ill," she continued, needing to get it out before she was unable to. "That she was ashamed to be my sister. And that… that she didn't want a whore like me around her or her son."

Her voice broke again, and he could only gather her closer, his heart breaking.

"I didn't see her again for eighteen months after that. And even then, she only came because I was sick, in hospital with pneumonia. They needed a next of kin, they found her name and number in my planner. Even now, all these years later she doesn't like to be reminded of it. And if… if my own sister couldn't accept… how could I expect you to?"

She raised herself to look at him, silently begging him to understand. "Melissa's an idiot," he said flatly, and she was so startled she let out a burst of laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth as she stared at him, torn between amusement and tears. He sat up, shifting to reach for her. One hand settled on her hip while the other came up to tuck an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "Rachel, listen to me. And hear what I'm saying, or this is going to tear us apart and I am not willing to let that happen," he said firmly, purposefully meeting her eyes before he spoke again. "I don't care."

He saw her brows furrow, the questions forming on her lips. "Wh-?"

"About your past," he explained quickly, "what you did, who you were- none of it matters to me. I don't care, it doesn't change anything. All I care about is you."

"How can you say that? Eddie, the things I did..."

"Are in the past," he said simply. "I meant what I said earlier- I'm angry that you were put in that situation, but that is not that same as being angry at you. And certainly not disgusted, or ashamed to be your husband."

She flinched, and he figured he'd hit the nail on the head. She studied him, wondering if she dared to say what was in her mind. But he was right, she acknowledged, that this would eventually break them if it wasn't all brought out in to the open. "You walked out," she said quietly. "I saw the look on your face. You were disgusted. And then you walked out."

He closed his eyes briefly. "And you thought I was walking out on you," he realised, resisting the urge to groan. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face was enough. He shook his head, pressing his forehead against hers. "Never," he promised quietly. "I had a lot of emotions, darling, and maybe disgust was one, but I swear that it wasn't aimed at you. I didn't walk away from you on purpose- my head was spinning, and I needed fresh air before I punched a wall. I need to process what you'd told me. But it wasn't aimed at you."

She believed him, relief crashing through her. She'd known to some extent that Melissa's reaction had affected her badly, influencing her fears for Eddie's reaction but she hadn't realised just how much, she recognised, moving forward to hug him tightly, pressing her eyes closed to stem the flow of tears. He pulled her closer so that she was practically on his lap, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "I love you, Rachel. I'm proud to be your husband."

She drew back to look at him in shock, her expression almost comical. "Eddie..."

"I mean it," he said earnestly. "You're the strongest person I know, Rach, this has only solidified that. I am incredibly lucky to be married to you."

She didn't even think about it- she kissed him. For the first time since she had said goodbye before her revelation (had it really been less than twelve hours ago?) and without allowing herself to think of the consequences. He responded immediately, fingers tightening around her hip as his lips moved almost urgently against hers. She tore herself away before he could make her lose her mind completely, cupping his face. "I love you."

He smiled, nuzzling into her. "And I love you."

Something inside her had eased, a tight knot loosening and enabling her to breathe again for the first time all afternoon. A part of her was still stunned that he had accepted her, but she believed what he was saying and all of a sudden, Stuart Hordley seemed much less of a problem.

Because they were okay.

After getting Rachel to agree to return home with him, he settled with her in bed and once again promised her that they were okay. Her past was something they couldn't change, but they could change how they dealt with it now. He held her in his arms as she drifted to sleep, kissing her forehead and running his fingers through her hair as her breath evened out. Finally, and when he knew she wouldn't wake, he rolled away from her softly and slipped from the bed. Reaching for his laptop, he logged on and began his search from the chair that Rachel had placed by the large window. She loved looking towards the sky at night, swearing blind to Michael that she could see shooting stars. The little boy agreed with her immediately, telling her that he could see them too as she shared a smile with Eddie over his head.

Eddie wanted to know what it was that Stuart Hourdly had over her. He needed to be 10 steps ahead of anyone that could come close to hurting his wife, so he needed to do his own research.

Starting with a simple google search, he found the news article that Rachel had mentioned Stuart throwing at her previously in her office. Eddie was making a mental note of things he wanted to get back at Stuart for, and that was on the list. Rachel wasn't one to be intimidated, the woman faced wild teens and even wilder parents on a daily basis. So for Stuart to have caused her any concern, he must have done or said something serious. Eddie only hoped that he hadn't done more than that, for his own sake. He wasn't sure what he would do if he knew that Stuart had become physical, but he was sure he didn't want to find out.

The article lead him on a wild chase of names and organizations, searching anything he could find that may have meaning and could therefore be used against Rachel. His eyes screamed with exhausted, cried out for him to rest but he simply couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. He had promised to protect Rachel, for better or for worse. How could he do that when he wasn't aware of what it was that he was up against?

Deciding he was satisfied with the information he had gathered, he flipped the switch to Hourdly himself. Starting with his company, he began looking at legalities involving student work hours after the information Candice had given him about Bolton. Saving pages left, right and centre, Eddie was beginning to compile an impressive amount of articles that could potentially blow up in Stuart's face. It wasn't enough, nowhere near actually. Eddie was determined to have plans all the way from A to Z in order to take him down when he next came after Rachel, and hit him where he least expected it.

"Eddie? What are you doing?" Rachel commented from the bed, sitting up quickly after feeling beside her and noticing the empty bed. Her heart had stopped momentarily, her semi-conscious state jumping to the conclusion of Eddie having left her during the night after realizing he couldn't be with her after all. Her eyes found him hunched over his laptop screen as she scanned the room, the alarm clock on her bedside table reading 3:55am.

Eddie looked up and realized he had been busted, guiltily shutting the lid of the laptop as he made his way back over to her. "Never you mind." He teased slightly as he pulled her against him, hoping to lighten the mood and ease the panic she had obviously felt when she woke alone.

It didn't work. "What were you doing? It's the middle of the night, and we were up late as it is."

"I'll explain tomorrow," he promised. "Go back to sleep."

She peered at him through the darkness, but finally nodded, curling into him and gripping him tightly. "You need to sleep as well." He was exhausted, he admitted, and gladly settled down with her in his arms. Her fingers were twinned tightly in his shirt, pressed as close as she could be without making it uncomfortable for either of them. He was glad of it, didn't begrudge the comfort she obviously needed. He remained awake only long enough to hear his wife's breathing slow and even out once more, and then he was lost himself.

It felt like no time at all when he was dragged from a deep sleep, nonplussed at what had woken him. It was still dark, though the grey light through the curtains told him that it wouldn't be long until dawn. He lay still for a minute, trying to work it out. And then he heard the whimper.

Rachel had rolled away from him at some point, curled into a ball on her side. "Rach?" he leant up on his elbow, squinting at her as he fought through the sluggishness of sleep to figure out what was wrong. Her breathing was ragged, and as he watched her body jerked slightly, another pained moan coming from her.

"Eddie… I'm sorry…"

Finally, his brain caught up with reality. He shifted to slide closer to her, hand come up to brush her hair back from covering her face. "Rachel, wake up. Sweetheart, it's just a dream."

Her face was contorted in sleep, tears glistening on her cheeks. "Please!"

"Rachel!" he combed his fingers through her hair, rubbing her arm. "Rach, come on."

She gasped, jolting, her eyes flying open, wide but unseeing. "It's okay, love," he soothed. "You just had a nightmare."

"Eddie?"

"I'm here. You're fine."

Her heart was racing, breaths coming in ragged pants as she blinked, focused on him. Without warning she bolted upright, flinging her arms around him and paying no attention to the awkward angle.

He pressed a kiss to her hair, holding her tightly. "I've got you," he murmured. "I'm right here." Minutes ticked past, and slowly her breathing began to even out and her grip loosened, no longer quite as tight. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, shifting backwards to pull away and he let her go. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for," he said firmly, running a hand over her hair. "What did you dream about?"

"Nothing. I'm fine- you should go back to sleep."

He snorted. "Yeah, that's not going to happen. You were talking in your sleep, love- you said my name. What happened?"

"Nothing, Eddie. Just leave it."

She had curled up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. He frowned in her direction. "You were crying, Rachel. And begging. What was I doing?"

"I said leave it!"

"Just talk to me!" he exclaimed. "You're not fine, we both know it. So talk to me, let me help!"

"Fine!" She dropped her arms and whirled to face him. "You want to know? You were there, saying all the things to me that Melissa did, plus more! And you and Stuart Hordley were together, laughing about how stupid I must be to ever believe you could love a whore like me, how you were going to make sure everyone would know what I am! Saying other, worse things that I refuse to repeat aloud. Is that really what you wanted to know, Eddie?"

He gaped at her, stunned as she buried her face in her hands. For a few moments, there was only silence as she struggled to gasp in air, until eventually she swung herself out of bed without a word and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Eddie found her leant over the sink, a glass of water in hand as she stood with her eyes closed, breathing with deliberate slowness.

He paused for only a split second, before he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened, but when he didn't move away she placed her glass down and leant backwards, closing her eyes. "I do not think any of those things," he said to her quietly. "I could never think them."

"I know," her voice cracked, tears spilling from underneath her eyelids. His grip tightened, but she spun around instead to wrap her arms around him, her tears soaking into his t-shirt.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there, entwined in the freezing kitchen. But eventually she had stopped shaking, and a glance at the clock had him grimacing. "Come on," he murmured. "We can steal another couple of hours of sleep before school."

She nodded silently, allowing him to guide her upstairs and back into bed. He curled around her in an effort to stop her simply sneaking out again once he'd fallen asleep, and as he closed his eyes he wondered how exactly either of them were going to get through a school day.

His concerns were confirmed when they both dragged themselves into work the next day, coffee cups firmly in their hands and matching bags under their eyes. Eddie knew this was the day his plan would be put into action, and he promised Rachel before they left that she was not to face Stuart alone, ever again. No matter what that man, or any other for that matter, said to her in order to try and get to her, Eddie would remain by her side. Granted, he may have a few things of his own to say, but his devotion and love for his wife was one thing that was never to change. He walked Rachel to her office and kissed her gently as he left, closing the door to her office with a promise to telling the receptionist to leave her for the next 30 minutes to get on with her paperwork. He did just that, and also added to Joyce that she was to send for him if Mr Hordley was to show his face at any point. Joyce agreed immediately, used to the drama that came with working at a school like Waterloo Road. Next, Eddie took himself to his office and started making the necessary calls. He had a few friends to call on from University, ones that could help him dig into Stuart and throw a few issues into the seemingly perfect life and perfect business that the man presented. He hoped that this chain of events caused Stuart to come straight back to Rachel's door, where Eddie would surely be waiting for him and this time, would be prepared.

Rachel wasn't stupid, she knew that something was going on with Eddie. However, she was determined not to let it bother her. They had spoken of their issues and she knew any troubles he had was not to do with her and her past, so she allowed herself to get engrossed in her work once more. She dodged calls from contractors, not wanting to deal with that side of the business just yet. She even went as far to fake a fight between students in order to get herself off of the phone, but needs must. Instead, she worked tirelessly through the morning without even stopping for a break. The only time she looked away from her paperwork was to allows herself the chance to grab yet another coffee, needing the caffeine after her late night and disrupted sleep. By the time lunchtime rolled around, Rachel was in no fit state to face the school. She usually spent the hour walking between the canteen and the grounds outside, stopping any trouble and simply checking on her most vulnerable pupils. Instead, she hid for as long as possible before rationality won out. She may be both emotionally and physically exhausted, but she needed to check on certain people and knew she couldn't shy away forever. Walking the corridors and shoo-ing those that lingered outside, she stopped to watch out of the window and caught sight of her husband. When she'd been drafted in by the LEA to replace Jack, they hadn't told her the location of the position until she was outside the main entrance. She barely had time to think before she was ushered inside and introduced to Eddie. Of course, that lead to a very embarrassing conversation with the heads of Education, confirming that she definitely already knew that man as she so happened to be his wife. The LEA apologized profusely, stating that these things are usually picked up on before they get to this position. The couple continued to say they had no issue with working together as long as it broke no protocol, with Rachel offering to use her maiden name professionally. They wouldn't hide it from staff or students, and as much as she didn't like it, she knew she needed some form of her own identity, at least as she settled in.

Watching him now, she felt nothing but luck and pride that she was able to see both the professional and personal side of him. He chatted quietly with a year 8 currently, one that had been brought to their attention due to his irrational outbursts and moments of utter anger. Nobody slipped through the net at Waterloo Road, no stone was left unturned when the students were concerned. She was about to take the stairs to join them outside when her secretary approached, biting her lip in the usual nervous way she did. "Sorry Ms Mason, but Mr Hordley is on the phone. And he sounds mad, shall I get Mr Lawson?" Rachel rolled her head back dramatically, putting her hands to her head in an attempt to stop the headache that would no doubt be present as soon as she got on the phone. "Don't worry about it, I can deal with him." She offered, not too sure she believed her own words. She felt grateful that it was only a phone call, at least she could deal with that and easily put the phone down if need be.

She sat herself at the desk, staring at the phone for a few seconds before mentally shaking herself and picking the receiver up, unmuting it and hoping her voice remained steady. "Rachel Mason."

"What the hell have you done?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You think I don't know?" Hordley hissed down the line, and she couldn't deny that the venom in his voice startled her. "Are you really willing to risk so much?"

"Stuart, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Do you think I'm playing, Rachel? Call off your dogs, or a certain article will find its way around! How will your staff react when they learn their headmistress is nothing but a cheap whore?"

She flinched. Swallowed thickly. "Stuart, I have no idea what you're talking about," she told him calmly, grateful her voice didn't shake. "Do you really think I'm foolish enough to do anything against you right now?"

"You expect me to believe this is a coincidence?"

"Believe what is a coincidence?" she questioned, exasperated. He was a silent. "Stuart, as if I would do anything!" she continued, lowering her own voice anxiously. "All I want is for you to go away; I'm hardly going to do anything to jeopardise that. Besides, it's been less than twenty-four hours-what on earth could I have done?"

There was another silence. "What about your husband?"

"Leave him out of this!" panic entered her voice for the first time, and he laughed mockingly.

"Oh, that's right- he doesn't know, does he? Has no idea the woman he takes to bed each night has had more men between her legs than he's ever shaken hands with! I wonder if he'll still want you when he finds out? How quickly he'll leave? He certainly won't still love you, but I suppose there would be other benefits to being married to a prostitute…"

She slammed the receiver down, breathing in shaky gasps. Her stomach was churning, the meagre bites of apple she'd managed to force down threatening to make a reappearance. With deliberate slowness, she lay her head on her desk, cushioned by her hands and focused on breathing slowly. She had no doubt that Hordley would do as he threatened. And her career would be over. She'd be forced to leave, and she would certainly never teach again. Maybe it was better to go before she was pushed, she mused, readjusting her position. It would be difficult to blackmail her if she wasn't there.

She paused, lifted her head with a frown. Because he hadn't been blackmailing her today- he'd been threatening her. But she hadn't done anything, hadn't even looked at how viable doing as he demanded was, the only thing she'd done since his visit yesterday (was it really only yesterday?) was tell… Eddie.

She pushed to her feet, stalking through the corridors and practically bursting outside. "Mr Lawson!" her bark echoed across the playground, had more than a few of the kids taking a step backwards. "With me!"

A chorus of jeers and laughter arose, and she could see the confusion and concern on his face as he began to jog towards her. When he was close enough, she turned on her heel and stormed to the nearest empty room, waiting impatiently for him to catch up. He automatically closed the door behind him, questions forming on his lips but she rounded on him before he could speak, eyes flashing with anger. "What the hell did you do?"

"What?"

"I've just had Stuart Hordley on the phone. He's really not very happy, seems to be under the impression I've done something against him. Only I know I haven't done it, which just leaves you!"

The expression on his face said it all. "Rach…"

"How could you?"

"Rachel-,"

"I thought you understood! You know what he'll do! He will take everything from me, Eddie, and you're helping him do it!"

"That's not fair!" he jabbed a finger at her. "I'm trying to help you! Am I supposed to just let him blackmail you?"

"You're not supposed to go off half-cocked without thinking about the consequences!"

"The consequences? The consequences are if you let him blackmail you, you will always be under his thumb! You give him the contract, he wins!"

"This isn't about anyone winning! My God, how can you stand there and be so sanctimonious? Don't you see what you've done?"

Eddie finally sagged as his anger left him immediately, replaced with an overwhelming fear of not being able to protect the one woman he loved more than anything. It was his job, as her husband, to be her support system. He was supposed to be able to care for her and protect her from anything that came her way. He had failed her, in the greatest of ways. The thought caused tears to swim in his eyes, and he blinked them away rapidly before she could see his weakness. "Do you know how it feels Rachel?" He asked her, not waiting for an answer before containing. "To love someone so much, yet not be able to protect them?" He began to pace, letting out his pent up anger as he stepped around her and walked the length of the classroom multiple times. "You didn't tell me, I've got over that. You were scared, I understand it all Rach, I really do." He reasoned, more to himself that to her. He had accepted that, knew her well enough to accept her reasons as soon as he heard them. "But now, there's this man who has a hold over you. You're my wife Rachel, and he's using your past against you. How can I protect you from him? Why kind of man am I if I don't at least try?" He asked, practically begging her to listen to him.

Rachel let his words sink in, and immediately felt guilty for her earlier outburst. With Eddie, he'd been the only man, hell- the only person, to ever care enough to take her feelings into consideration. Not only that, he put her before himself every single time. She hadn't realised how this would affect him, had only thought about the situation selfishly instead of how her husband would be thinking about their predicament. That always had been Rachel's issue, she never allowed herself to trust another person enough to fully lean on them in a difficult situation. "Oh Eddie." She softened immediately, all earlier anger leaving her body as she took in his broken appearance. It was only then that she realised that he was probably still awake when she woke up without him beside her, researching and finding different ways in which he could help her. It wasn't his fault that Stuart was coming after her, it would be happening either way. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, for not telling you, for how I reacted earlier. But most of all.. I'm sorry for making you think, for even a second, that you're anything less than the most amazing man I've ever met." She walked close to him and rested her hands against his chest, looking up at him with all the emotions she felt evident in her features. She was preparing for war, ready for the biggest battle she had faced in her life. But the one person on her side, the one person always fighting her corner, was stood right in front of her.

Eddie reached out a hand and pushed Rachel's hair from her face, tucking stray pieces behind her ear in an action to soothe her. "The sooner you realise that it's me and you against the world, the better." They shared a smile and Eddie leant down to steal a kiss from her quickly, finally catching sight of the time and realising that lunchtime was coming to an end. "We can deal with anything that comes our way Rach, I will be dammed if I let the likes of Stuart bloody Hordley ruin my marriage, okay?" She nodded her head in agreement and Eddie couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her once more, glad to finally see the hint of a smile on her face. "Tonight, we start on a game plan together. Over a Chinese, maybe even a bottle of wine. Does that sound like a plan?"

Rachel herself finally spotted the clock and realised that they'd both been shut away for far too long, surprised the school hadn't erupted into chaos due to their short absence. "That sounds perfect." She agreed, squeezing their hands from where they'd joined together in between them. "I love you Eddie Lawson." She admitted, as if sharing her deepest secret with the world.

"And I love you, Rachel Lawson. Now let's get going, I'm sure we've missed at least 2 fights and 5 arguments whilst being in here."

Sure enough, later that evening the couple found themselves on the sofa, a bottle of wine shared between them even as their voices grew louder and louder. "Rach, what's the worst case here? So it comes out-,"

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" her voice rose, verging on hysterical.

"You haven't done anything wrong! There might be some moaning, but you won't be fired."

"You can't be sure of that!" she shook her head. "And even if I wasn't- do you really think I could stay, carry on as if nothing's happened? Hundreds of parents find out an ex-prostitute's running their kids school- what d'you think they're going to do, congratulate me? They'll be after my blood and I couldn't blame them!"

"It was a long time ago, darling…"

"That makes no difference in the minds of these people, believe me."

That was an odd comment, he thought, wondering absently if she spoke from experience there and resolving to question her about it later. "You can't sit back and let Hordley do this, Rach. Especially not after today!"

"I'm not going to," she said calmly.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Resign."

He choked on the mouthful of wine he'd just taken. "What? You can't!"

"I don't have a choice!" she slammed her own glass down, eyes flashing. "Either I do what he wants, and you've made quite clear what you think about that, or I make sure I'm not in a position to! If I resign, at least I can carry on teaching! But if he tells, Eddie, I'll never be hired again and you know it. There is no way to make this okay, you can't fix it! The best I can do now is to limit the damage and try to salvage at least something!"

She walked out, ended up in the back garden with her head in her hands. Once her breathing had returned to normal, she pushed her hair back and tilted her head, gazing up at the stars and trying to ignore the ache inside her.

She'd been out there a while when she heard movement behind her. Eddie perched on the arm of the bench, looking uncomfortable. "Rach… I didn't realise… I mean, I hadn't really thought it through…" she tipped her head at him, and he looked sagged slightly. "I was a bit of a prat, and I'm sorry."

She softened, reaching out to entwine their finger's. "I don't want to leave Waterloo Road, Eddie. I'll try to find a way of getting rid of Hordley."

He beamed. "You won't have to do it by yourself," he promised, before his mouth twisted. "And I promise, no more lectures about coming clean. I know you can't… but we've got to fight back, get him off your case otherwise this'll be hanging over you forever."

She nodded her agreement, and when he shifted to sit properly, she willingly curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. But her stomach still churned uneasily, the nausea she'd been feeling all day stubbornly refusing to leave.

The next morning, Rachel felt pathetic as Eddie crouched in front of her and coaxed her breathing to return to normal. It had been a while since she had experienced a panic attack, and was grateful for her husbands level head as he offered her soothing words and loving touches. Eddie himself was distraught with the image of his wife in tears, aware that there wasn't much he could do in terms of helping her as long as Stuart Hordley still had a hold over her. As he stroked her hair and curled the strands around his finger, he was hit with a brainwave. "Rach, I think I've got it." He offered, pulling her attention to him immediately. His smile was contagious, and she found herself grinning at him in return.

"What have you got Eddie?" She humoured him, pulling herself up from her precious position and dragging him with her so they were sat on their bed.

Eddie was mulling over the idea himself, wishing he had given himself more chance to think of it before blurting out his plan, but figured it may be easy to work out with two brains instead of one. "Hear me out, it's a starting point." He offered, not wanting to get her hopes up too early on but figuring that it was too late. "If I do something to tick him off again, he'll come back to you and your office, right?"

"Yes?" Rachel answered, figuring that it was really a given but not wanting Eddie to do anything stupid to anger the man that held so much power over her.

"So when he comes and threatens you, we'll have something recording him placed in your office." Eddie offers, a hint of pride at himself for coming up with the plan. "If we've got proof of blackmail, anything he says against you won't count because we'll threaten him right back. What do you say?"

Rachel considered the offer, tried to think of each and every possible outcome that could come with this plan. No matter what is was that Stuart wanted, surely he wasn't stupid enough to do it against proof of blackmail? His reputation of a respected businessman would go down the drain if partners and benefactors realised he fought dirty to claw his way to the top. A slow smile spread across her face as she took Eddie's face in her hands and kissed him soundly. "You're a genius." She commented against his lips, unable to stop the smile as she realised that Eddie would not stop until she was safe and away from harm. "I bloody love you Eddie Lawson." She solidified her statement with another kiss, grateful to finally feel happy again in his arms and without the dark cloud that seemed to reside above her head permanently as of late.

The sound of her laughter was music to Eddie's ears, a sound he had missed so much and longed to hear for what felt like the longest time. He tugged her even closer to him and traced her smile with his fingertips, causing her to blush dramatically. "You're not alone Rachel, okay?" He promised, knowing that no matter how many times he said it, she'd still try and tackle the world alone. "We will come out of this together, I promise you." He'd say the same promise to her every day if it was needed, it that's what it took to make Rachel feel safe, secure and wanted. He solidified his statement with another kiss, making the most of her joyous and infectious mood as he tackled her back to the sheets. So what if they were a few minutes late to work?

A few days later, the date for the meeting on the bid for the training centre was drawing closer and closer, and Rachel was more and more on edge as they waited for Hordley to make his move. She hadn't heard from him, which she thought might actually be worse at this point. "What if he doesn't go for it?" she fretted, pacing the office while Eddie watched her from a chair. "What do I do then?"

"Rachel, it'll be fine…"

"But Eddie, the meeting is this week!"

"And Hordley is going to want to make sure you do as he wants," he reminded her soothingly, standing and lightly gripping her shoulders. "He wants you panicking, Rach. You can't let him get to you."

She rested her head against him for a moment. "What do we do if this doesn't work?"

"You can't think like that." his hands rubbed up and down her arms. "It is going to work. And if all else fails, I'll just knock his lights out to convince him."

"Eddie!"

"What? It's perfect," he nodded, satisfied with his idea. "If he reported it, he'd have to report blackmailing you as well. It's the perfect crime."

"Stop it!"

But she was amused, no longer wringing her hands together and so he grinned at her, ignoring the way she shook her head at him. "You're ridiculous," she sighed, but wound her arms around his neck and rested against him.

"It's going to be fine, Rach."

Unseen by her, his expression sobered abruptly. He'd never let on to Rachel, but if he were honest, he was expecting Hordley to have reacted by now, and he didn't like that he had been so quiet. For all he teased Rachel at being a worrier, she had some good points and he had no idea what to do if Hordley didn't make a move before the bid meeting.

"Come on." He drew back, careful to neutralise his expression first. "Everyone's going out for drinks for Matt's birthday."

"I'm not in the celebrating mood…"

"You're the head, love. You're expected to at least buy a round," he reminded her with a grin. She sighed, nodded and began to gather her things.

It was like watching her put a mask on, Eddie thought, once they were at the pub and situated with drinks. She laughed with Steph, listened patiently to Grantley for longer than could reasonably be expected and wished Matt a genuine-sounding happy birthday, and no one would ever have guessed everything wasn't okay. Eddie watched her from the corner of his eye, and so jumped in surprise when he heard a voice speak from beside him. "What's going on with you two?"

Tom was eyeing him with a worried look, and Eddie quickly faked a smile. "Nothing- we're fine."

"Eddie," he said flatly. "You haven't been fine for a while. Rachel randomly left in the middle of the day, you were a complete… well, you were unpleasant, and ever since you two have been having discussions and whispered conversations that goes beyond a marriage. Not to mention you look like you're about to leap to her defence any minute. What's going on?"

Eddie winced- they apparently hadn't been as subtle as they thought. "It's a personal thing."

"Is Rachel sick?" Tom asked quietly.

"No! No, nothing like that."

He looked at him appraisingly, but nodded. "Okay. But if you ever want to talk…"

"I appreciate it." Eddie clapped him on the shoulder, before he went to order another beer. He was going to need it, he thought.

Rachel felt Eddie's eyes on her as she stood to go to the bathroom and she couldn't help stopping to share with him a small smile. His worrying was flattering really. She'd never had someone to care for her in such a way, never known unconditional love like she felt it with Eddie. To known there was someone who would fight for her, protect her and love her was a feeling she had never really gotten over. Despite them being married, it still filled her stomach with butterflies when she thought of him and the life they shared together. She wasn't easy to be with, she knew that. Especially at the beginning, Eddie had to beg, steal and borrow to pieces of her heart at a time before she was able to give it to him. She thought of how lucky she was as she headed to the bathroom, twirling her wedding band around her finger as she went, only to be yanked backwards by a sharp pain on her arm and the feeling of being pulled. Before she was able to get her wits about her and stop herself moving, she found herself face to face with Stuart once more. His look was menacing, and she quickly looked behind him with hopes that someone happened to be walking past.

"Your husband needs to learn when to leave the grown ups to the business." He whispered in her face, eyes wide as his grip on her arm tightened. She struggled against him, trying to back away from him as her skin crawled with his touches.

"Just let me go." She whispered, annoyed at herself for how quickly the fight seemed to leave her. She just wanted to be away, to be safely within reach of Eddie or at least someone who might stop this scenario from progressing.

Stuart let out a sigh and Rachel could smell the alcohol on his breath, wondering if he'd been here waiting for her or was simply coincidentally drinking in the same place they happened to gather in. "I'd watch yourself if I were you." He advised, replaying the warning he had from his boss in his head after a call from a certain Mr Lawson. "I've arranged a meeting with you tomorrow to discuss business." The way he said it made Rachel's skin crawl, not liking the suggestive tones to his words. "I want you there alone. Make sure your husband is well away, or I'll tell everyone. Have you got that Amanda?" He didn't stop to listen to her reply, stalking off from her and finally releasing her arm from his grip. She sagged against the wall immediately, gulping in air as she tried to calm her frantic breaths. She caught herself and rushed off to the bathroom, immediately filling her hands with cold water and pressing it against her face to rid her of the deep red cheeks she had gained in his company. She knew the others would be looking for her, so wiped away the remaining water and held her head up as she walked back towards her group.

Eddie was by her side in an instant, and she knew there was no point hiding anything from him, not anymore. "He was here." She offered simply, muttering the words to him as soon as he was within earshot of her voice.

Eddie looked her over as the panic filled his senses, wanting to know the how and why for how the situation had come about. He noticed the way Rachel held her arm, and immediately covered her hands with his own. He cursed himself for not following her, for allowing her to be in a place in which he could get to her and apparently cause her so much damage.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you?" He searched the faces in the pub frantically, hoping to catch sight of Stuart before he left so they could tackle the issue like real men.

Rachel shook her head, but was painfully aware of the eyes of the staff on the pair. "I need air."

She pushed away, practically stumbling outside and only Eddie's hand on her elbow prevented her from tripping. As leant against the wall, grateful for the cold brick as Eddie scanned her worriedly. "Are you hurt?" he asked again.

She shook her head. "He knows you're involved in some way. If you don't back off, he'll release the article."

"That's not going to happen."

She knew it wouldn't, knew Eddie would never walk away from this, away from her, but part of her wished that he would. That childishly, she could play Hordleys game and that it would all be over eventually. But Eddie had been right in what he said, she would always be under his thumb if she did that and she hated it. She leant her face against Eddie's shoulder, felt her heart rate slowly begin to calm down.

"Is she alright?" Rachel stiffened at the sound of Tom's voice, straightening and attempting not to flush when she saw him standing not far away, Steph hovering behind him. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Eddie was surprisingly calm. "We'll be back in in a minute."

The dismissal mixed with a plea was obvious, and Tom nodded, almost pushing a reluctant Steph in front of him.

"This is ridiculous," Rachel muttered, a hand coming up to rub her forehead.

"There's another option we didn't consider," Eddie said quietly, and she glanced up at him.

"What?"

"We preempt Hordley, and make his blackmail useless."

She looked at him in confusion. "Sorry?"

"We tell everyone before he does."

She stared at him. "You must be joking."

He held his hands up slightly. "Just a suggestion."

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "He's already won, hasn't he? There's nothing I can do..."

"Don't talk like that," he admonished gently.

"You wouldn't have suggested that if you didn't think it was hopeless."

"It's not hopeless, Rach. Weren't you the one who said it's not about anyone winning? He's just a bastard and even if you did as he wanted, I'm not sure he'd keep quiet."

Tears pricked at her eyes and she bit her lip hard, looking away from him. "I don't know what to do," she admitted helplessly, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I wish I could make this go away for you."

She rested her cheek on his chest. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

They stood in silence, wrapped up in each other as Eddie tried hard not to let on how worried he was. "Why don't I take you home?"

But to his surprise, she shook her head. "It's Matt's birthday."

"He won't mind."

"But I do. Hordley's about to take pretty much everything from me- I'm not giving him a single thing more."

Her jaw set, eyes flashing and he found himself quickly nodding at her. "Not everything," he pointed out as they walked back inside. "You're not getting rid of me."

She smiled, leaning into him for a second. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Rachel held the mug against her chest until it was stone cold, the liquid remaining untouched as she looked into the distance and mulled over her options. How was she able to face anybody she worked with if they found out about her past? Her life wouldn't be worth living if the kids got hold of the information, never mind if their parents got wind too. Eddie had finally convinced her to go home after she insisted on staying for another drink, yet sat in silence after she had gulped it down. He argued that her expression was far much obvious that her simply leaving early, so she relented and took his hand as he lead her to the waiting taxi. Now, he watched her from the opposite sofa and wondered when the best time to intervene was. He didn't want her sat alone and working herself up into a frenzy, but he also knew she needed time to think things through alone. Wordlessly, he took the mug from her and took it to the kitchen, bringing back a tub of ice cream and finally sitting next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and passed her a spoon, taking off the lid and hiding it between them while he took a spoonful for himself. "Are you ready?" He didn't elaborate, knew he didn't need to. He was ready for whatever Rachel wanted to do, be it tell him her plan or listen to what he had to offer.

She spooned out her own ice cream and took the mouthful before she faced him. "I'm going to call a staff meeting tomorrow."

Eddie felt a shiver run down his spine as he anticipated her next words, worried that he'd have to once again be forced to coax her out of thinking of reigning. Rachel noticed the look on his face and rolled her eyes, nudging his shoulder gently and moving closer to him to steal some of his warmth as the ice cream made her shiver. "Not for that reason... I'm going to have to tell them. If they're on side, that's half the battle won." She knew it was more than that, the battle was only really just starting. She had governors to speak to, members of the LEA to contact, but she'd always considered Waterloo Road to be like a family. Ever since she was pulled in as Head, she quickly realised that they fought like cat and dog amongst each other but would fight to the death against anyone who crossed a member of their team. They were dysfunctional, but Rachel wasn't used to anything being normal and functional anyway. "The thing is Eddie, this doesn't just impact me. We're a team, and not just at work. You're part of this, this effects you too. I need your full support because you'll get comments, they'll come for you too." The guilt had been eating away at her for what she was putting him through, for the sacrifices he was having to make for simply loving her. It should be easy, plain sailing now they were married and the hard part was over. Only that wasn't the case, and things were seemingly getting more difficult as the years went on.

Eddie almost let out a laugh at his wife, ever the selfless one. She thought of others more than herself in almost every occasion. How she was facing turmoil with her past being dragged up and dangled in front of her, yet she thought more of Eddie's feelings than her own. "Honestly Rachel, you're something else." He pressed a kiss to the side of her head before tilting her head so she looked at him. "Let them come, I'll be waiting. Nothing they say or do will stop me loving you, I'll always be right by your side." He promised, watching her eyes fill with tears at the sincerity in his words. "I don't think it'll come to that, they're going to take it absolutely fine. But even if your fears become a reality, we will face it together. You have my word."

"I'm sorry you're being pulled into this. If there was any way to keep you out of it…"

"I told you, Rachel- I am not ashamed to be your husband. Not now, not ever." She wrapped her arms around him, and he tugged her onto his lap, holding her tightly. He could feel her trembling against him, knew that the prospect of coming clean was terrifying her. They stayed in that position, entwined with each other as they ate ice cream and purposefully avoided any mention of the following day. Neither of them were going to get much sleep that night.

They got to school early, and Rachel immediately threw herself into paperwork. She made sure to tidy everything up, leave it all in order… just in case. When breaktime came around, Eddie tracked her down to the toilets where she was throwing up and shaking so badly she struggled to turn the tap on. "Rachel, forget this," he said desperately. "We'll find another way."

"What other way?" she questioned, scooping water into her mouth. "Eddie… I'm afraid. But I refuse to let Hordley win, and this is the best way to do that."

He inclined his head, slightly in awe. "I love you. Don't ever forget that."

She turned to cup his face in her hands. "I am so, so grateful for it."

He took her hands, glancing at the time. "You ready?"

"No." she gave a weak smile. They walked to the staffroom, where the rest of the teachers were looking slightly impatient. When they walked in, Steph looked up and her eyes widened.

"You look awful."

Oddly, it made Rachel feel a little better. "Thanks so much," she said dryly, stepping up to the front of the room. Eddie hovered by the side.

"What's going on?" Jasmine questioned. Rachel took a deep breath, glancing at Eddie, who shot her as reassuring a smile as he could manage.

"There is… a situation, which is going to affect the school, and therefore all of you," she started awkwardly. She swallowed thickly, unable to breathe properly. "It's my problem, my fault and I wish I could have fixed it before it came to this."

"What's happened?" Tom looked understandably wary, and Rachel took another breath.

"Some of you met Stuart Hordley, the contractor bidding for the new centre. He found out something about me, about my past. And he has threatened to tell everyone unless I ensure he receives the contract." She could see her staff exchanging glances, murmurs going up around the room. "I don't intend on doing a damn thing for him. So this is me pre-empting him. Despite everything, I'd rather you found out from me than him."

Steph was frowning, exchanging looks with Matt. "What did he find out?"

Rachel was gripping the fabric of her skirt so tightly her knuckles were right. "I need you all to understand, I'm incredibly ashamed of this part of my life. I was seventeen, incredibly alone and desperate and foolish enough to trust someone I shouldn't have." All eyes were on her, and she couldn't bear it. She looked to Eddie, who could see the panic in her eyes. She didn't look away, swallowing back tears.

"What did you do?" Tom asked softly. She kept her eyes on Eddie, her throat closed and her chest tight.

She couldn't face anyone as she began to tell her story, instead choosing to focus on the pattern of the carpet as she told her tale. "I was a prostitute. I met a girl who told me she would be my best friend and help me find a place to live, a week later I was sucked into a filthy scheme of old men paying teenagers for sex." There it was, out in the open. She felt the tears fill her eyes as she waited for the whispers to start, but didn't hear any so continued to speak with hopes that further explanation may curb their judgement. "It took me years to get out, to get away and escape from the people who held such power over me. They gave me shelter, food, a sense of stability I suppose. I had no choice but to change my name. I got myself into education and haven't looked back since. I know you all think I'm being dramatic sometimes but this job genuinely did save my life and sometimes, I feel like I owe it something. Maybe too much." She finally looked up, only to search out Eddie's eyes and gain some idea of how she was doing. His warm smile of pride spurred her to carry on, to lay it on all the table and take the consequences afterwards. "Stuart's secretary, she used to work with me. He knows about her so it wouldn't be long before he found out about me too. He has evidence, an article from way back when. He has said if I don't try everything to get his bid accepted, he'll ruin me."

Eddie couldn't take it any more, he watched Rachel stumble through her speech and occasionally take deep breaths in order to gather the courage to carry on. He felt like offering her an applause, wanting to pull her into his arms and kiss her with everything he had in him. He didn't, of course, he knew the boundaries that were in place when at work. Instead, he headed straight for her and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her on the forehead to publicly show his support as he too turned to their staff and awaited their reaction.

"Jesus Rachel, is that it?" Steph spoke first, causing Rachel to furrow her brows in confusion and cock her head to the side as she waited for her to continue. " I thought you'd killed someone or something." The blonde rolled her eyes, shocking the entire staff room by coming in front of their boss and taking hold of her shoulders. "When he comes, we'll be ready, alright?" She promised, offering a sincere smile as she stood near her boss with a sign of solidarity. They hadn't seen eye to eye on many occasions, and that probably wouldn't change anytime soon. But that doesn't mean that she would stand by and watch her be blackmailed or forced out of a job that was rightly hers over events that happened years ago. They'd all made mistakes in the past, all done stupid things they came to regret.

Tom was up next, and stood by Steph's side as he too offered Rachel a smile. "You were used, nobody is judging you for that. Except for maybe Grantly. And he judges everybody." At that comment, the entire staff room laughed in agreement. The awkward tension in the air had lifted and the silence was replaced with chatter that wasn't nearly as sinister as Rachel thought it would be.

"Hold on, you don't want me to leave?" Rachel felt floored, completely gobsmacked as this was the last thing she expected. She'd envisioned being personally walked out of the building, the entire staff team calling on the governors as they asked for her dismissal. She never expected support on this scale, with the likes of Steph Haydock standing by her side as she went into battle.

"Course we don't, you silly mare," Steph rolled her eyes. Her mouth dropped open.

"What Hordley's doing is illegal, right?" Jasmine rested her arms on the back of her chair. "Can't we just have him arrested?"

Davina tilted her head. "Wouldn't we need solid proof?"

"Can we get it?"

Rachel was watching, slightly stunned as the room erupted into debates on how exactly to stop Hordley. Fingers were pressed her to her mouth, fighting back the tears the prickled in her eyes as Eddie's hand tightened on her waist. "Are you okay?"

She swallowed thickly. "Ask me again in ten minutes."

"Hang on- is that what happened at the pub last night?" Tom realised, looking over at the pair. Rachel nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and the English teacher frowned. "Bastard."

Now, Rachel turned away, facing Eddie in an effort to hide her emotions. Turning away meant she didn't see the slightly alarmed expression on Tom's face, nor the slight shake of the head Eddie gave him, followed by a grateful look. "How long before Hordley starts playing hard ball?" Steph asked. Eddie glanced at Rachel, who didn't seem in any state to answer.

"He's booked a meeting for today," he said instead. "Our guess is to try and threaten Rachel again to ensure she does what he wants. But he'll really flip when the results of the bids come out."

"Is there a chance he'll win the contract?" Matt enquired. Rachel turned back to face them, much to Eddie's relief since he had no clue.

"His bid is good," she admitted, "but much more expensive than the others. The truth is no one wants to spend that much money on Waterloo Road. Without someone supporting him, I doubt he'll get it."

"Which is where he hoped you would come in," Steph finished, and she nodded. She felt slightly dazed, unsure if this were real or a very odd sort of dream. Eddie's hand remained on her waist, and she had never been so grateful for anything or anyone in her life. Her arms had wrapped around herself, and Eddie dipped his head to murmur to her.

"Are you alright?" he seemed unimpressed with the nod he received. "Honestly, Rachel."

Rachel swallowed thickly. "I've been hiding this for twenty years. Hordley has forced me into a corner, and instead of turning on me, a bunch of people who've only known me for a few months…" she trailed off, and his grip tightened around her. "My own sister couldn't handle it, Eddie, but this lot…"

"Melissa may not be the best person to judge anything by," he pointed out, and she gave a choked laugh that was almost a sob.

"Point taken."

She finally found feeling in her feet again after more reassurances from staff, promising to be there if they were needed. Tom and Matt even offered to stay by her office to be on hand in case things went haywire. Eddie was under strict instructions to stay away, and Tom promised Rachel that he would keep an eye out because they all knew he would fight his way to be by his wife's side. They had a plan though, and Eddie would never forgive himself if he was the reason it failed. He was safe in the knowledge that enough people knew of his visit and his intentions to keep her safe until he was able to get there. His blood still boiled when he thought of the bruises, and he had taken his time the evening before to kiss any marks he could see and cherish every inch of her skin that he could reach. He had a class to teach, but was more interested in watching the clock as he refused to sit down, instead choosing to pace between the desks in an attempt to keep busy and occupy his body.

Rachel herself wasn't aware of Eddie's turmoil, but was watching the clock herself as she awaited his arrival. She felt better knowing how many people knew, so she wouldn't be left alone for too long with him. She was pondering on the positive reactions she had received when a knock on her door signalled his arrival. "Come in." She was wasting her breath, he had already opened the door and the look on his face told her that he wasn't in the best of moods already. "Wasn't yesterday enough?" She asked, thinking of the finger marks she had bruised onto her skin. However, the reaction she had seen earlier made her feel a taller somehow, more brave, more confident.

"I thought I'd start off as politely as possible, under the circumstances." He stalked in, looking the perfect mix of angry and cocky. Rachel resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, wanting nothing but to wipe the smirk from his face.

"Oh I don't see the need for manners when dealing with scum like you." He wouldn't have the last laugh, she wouldn't let him. Her phone was set for record, and she knew what she needed to get out of him. If she had to play dirty in order to get it, then she'd do exactly that.

"Let me make this clear Rachel. You get your little husband off my back or I will blow your nasty little Pandora's box wide open."

"How long are you going to keep blackmailing me for Stuart?" She asked, trying to coax out the information she required. Luckily, he did just that and walked right into her trap.

"As long as it takes. Look at this article, how do you think your staff will react when they find out you spend years on your back for a living?" He tried to fight dirty, grasping as straws as he placed another copy of the newspaper on her desk.

She didn't bother to look at it, simply held his gaze as she replied. "Release it."

"What?"

"I'm done Stuart. I'm doing fighting you. I won't back your bid, I won't do that to the school. So release it, and I'll deal with the consequences." His expression was enough of a win for her, the sheer look of a broken man who was finally starting to realise he had lost.

"Well your husband.."

"Leave Eddie out of this, he knows everything." She interrupted, finally having enough and stopping him from saying anymore. "The staff, know everything. You have no power over me."

As if he sensing the end of their conversation, Eddie entered her office and immediately gave her the once over. She knew he was checking for any more injuries, but she remained safely behind her desk. "Hello Stuart. I'm sure I told you to keep away from Rachel. But, as you're here. I think you should see this." He thrust the papers at Stuart, but he simply took them and threw them onto Rachel's desk without giving them a glance.

"What is it?"

"Employment rights for young people. Of course, if you've broken any of those laws, you'll probably never work again." Eddie wished he could see the look on Stuart's face, but remained stood at his position behind him as he dealt him another blow.

At that moment, Rachel knew to deal him the grand finale. She took out her phone from where it was hidden amongst her paperwork and held it up for him to see. "And as I have our very interesting little blackmail chat on record, I think we've got enough evidence to ensure that we do not see you here again."

"You're bluffing." Stuart tried, the desperation clear in his voice as he argued with them.

"Investigations into Hordley constructions? 5 years at Her Majesties for blackmail? It's all starting to sound very tiresome. If I were you, I'd quit while I was ahead."

"Do you think it's a good idea having her run this place?"

"Yeah, I do actually." Eddie shared a warm smile with Rachel, watching her eyes soften at the sincerity she could hear in his reply.

"I bet you love being married to a two bit hooker, don't you? I bet you got it for free at the beginning." Until that moment, Eddie had managed to keep his cool and remain calm. That comment took it too far, and Eddie didn't hesitate to turn around swiftly and aim his fist right at Stuart's jaw.

"If you wouldn't mind pissing off Hordley, you're starting to irritate us now. Keep away from my wife, and from our school. Next time, I won't stop."

Rachel didn't know whether to laugh or cry as Hordley left without another word. "Eddie! You shouldn't have done that!" She took his hand in hers, grimacing at the reddened knuckles.

"Did you really think I wouldn't?"

"You weren't supposed to be here at all," she grumbled good-naturedly. "I knew I should have had Tom keep an eye on you."

Their eyes met, and he cocked a smile. "But you have to admit, it was really satisfying," he pointed out. She kissed him.

When she broke away from him, she was grinning wickedly. "You should have seen his face."

He couldn't help but smile at the expression on her, reaching out to brush her hair back. "It's over, Rach, you're free."

"Not completely. He'll tell the governors now, and there's no way the students won't find out."

"And you have the support of the entire staff behind you," he reminded her. "Plus, you haven't done anything wrong."

She tilted her head in acknowledgment. "True."

He was looking at her, eyes boring into hers and she found herself blushing despite the years of marriage. "We should go get ice for your hand."

"I'll go to the kitchens. You have half a staff room full of people waiting for news."

She felt her lips twitch, nodded. Tom was waiting, talking quietly with Davina and they both looked up when she walked in, while in the corner Grantley never lowered his newspaper. "What happened?" Tom demanded, shooting to his feet.

"Eddie punched him."

Davina slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling, while Tom just nodded. "Understandable. Probably should have made sure he wouldn't come interfere."

"I'm not sure it would have made a difference," she shrugged, leaning against the arm of the chair. "Hordley was pretty angry. To be honest, I was glad someone walked in when he did."

Davina looked concerned. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, just yelled and threatened a bit." She rubbed her arm where the bruises were underneath her blouse, looking troubled. "I'm hoping that'll be the last Waterloo Road sees of him. But when was this place ever that lucky?"

Overhead, the bell rang and the distant clatter of students could be heard, over which Tom groaned. "Year eight," he muttered, "God help me."

Rachel laughed lightly, rising to her feet but before she could leave Davina was in front of her, looking nervous. "For what it's worth, I think what you've done today is really, really brave," she told her awkwardly and Rachel could only swallow thickly.

"Thank you, Davina."

She left with Tom and Grantley had silently gone too at some point, leaving Rachel stood alone in the empty staff room, wondering what exactly she was supposed to do next.

She decided the first thing she needed to do was take a large deep breath, to finally stand and feel as though the weight of the world was no longer on her shoulders. Emotionally drained, she took one last look around the empty staff room and set off back to her office. She still had a school to run after all, the day was only half finished. She'd entered the corridors at lunch time, so was swept into dealing with multiple arguments and sheparding children outside to where they needed to be. She approached her office once more but stopped when she heard her name being called. Letting out a sigh, she turned and hoped it wasn't anything important. She'd been letting her paperwork pile up as her headspace was taken up with Stuart Hordley, and really needed to get started on it if she wanted any sort of a half term.

"Come with me, I have a surprise." Eddie offered, turning on his heel and just hoping Rachel was following him. She was, of course. Because at this point, Rachel knew she would follow Eddie anywhere at the simple drop of a hat. He lead her to his room and handed her a folded up piece of paper, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched her open it. As she skimmed through the words, he decided to elaborate and hopefully answer the questions that he was sure she would be asking soon enough. "It's almost half term Rach. Now, I know we haven't made plans because of Michael but I've spoken to Alison and she's absolutely okay with this." Again, he gestured to the papers and watched her eyes flick up to his as the understanding passed across her face. "So me, you and Michael are going away. For an entire week, kind of a late honeymoon but with our favourite little boy. Exploring Paris and also Disneyland. How about it?" She deserved this, deserved to be whisked away and treated to the luxury of being able to forget the past weeks of hell that they'd been living. He'd always planned on something along these lines, but bit the bullet and made the booking after leaving her in the staff room.

"I'm glad I'm paying you to book holidays, how was year 10 maths?" Rachel teased, moving closer to him and taking the lapels of his blazer in her hands as she tugged him flush against her.

Eddie simply shrugged at her, smiling down as his eyes moved quickly between her own and her lips. "I was occupied, Mary offered to cover. Thats how I ended up in that meeting with you. I'm glad I did, it was worth it." He glanced at his hand to emphasise his point, proudly showing off his battle scars as Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Do you make a habit out of saving damsels in distress?"

"Only when I fancy the damsel."

She couldn't help but laugh. "How terribly forward, Mr Lawson."

His hands were on her hips, pulling her closer with a grin. "You complaining?"

"I suppose not..." she was so close, her lips were brushing against his as she spoke. His pupils were blown, fingers digging into her hips and she loved that he was this affected by nothing more than words and flirting. She drew him into a lingering kiss, keeping it tantalisingly tame since they couldn't take it any further and had to resist the urge to laugh when he pouted as she drew away. She trailed her fingers over his cheek, expression abruptly sobering. "Thank you, Eddie."

"For kissing you? Trust me, no thanks necessary."

She smiled slightly. "No. For everything. For not walking away, for coming after me when I ran, for standing next to me this morning."

"What brought this on?" He questioned with a frown.

"I just... I do realise how difficult this must have been for you. And I know I don't always remember to tell you how much I appreciate everything you do. You didn't sign up for any of this when you married me."

"I signed up for you," he said firmly, tilting her chin up, "and everything that entails. I told you, darling- it's you and me. And it is always going to be."

She pressed a kiss to his mouth, fingers sliding through his hair as she smiled. "I can't wait for Paris, by the way," she murmured against him.

"Me neither."

Their lips met again, and it would have been so very easy to get lost in each other but a bang from the door had them both looking around, confused. "I think we just scarred one of the kids," Eddie said dryly, and Rachel flushed.

"I should get back. And don't you have a class to teach?"

"Nope. Want company?"

"I have actual work to do, which I know full well I will not get done if you're anywhere near my office." She pointed a finger at him, laughing. "So stay. Do the marking I know you're behind on."

He pouted, but she blew him a kiss and left him behind, a small smile playing across her lips as she walked the corridors.

The next week was spent in silent bliss. Rachel had no more run ins with contractors and was actually able to look forward to the half term where she would be jetting off for a week with her boys. The final day arrived and seemed to pass by with a blur, her time and energy taken up with spelling bees, football games, Grantley's dramas and rivalry with Forest Mount. She even had an offer to take up headship at their school, but she replied honestly that her heart was with Waterloo Road and she couldn't imagine that changing. In all honestly, her heart was anywhere Eddie was and she'd truly miss being around him all the time and feeling his constant support by his side.

She clapped the loudest as she watched Carla spell her final word, sounding out claustrophobia and getting to her feet as soon as Matt rung the bell. She couldn't help the cheeky comment to Forest Mount as she took to the stage, feeling so proud she could burst.

"Well, okay. Thank you." She calmed the students, or attempted to as much as she could. One thing she loved most about her school was the pride that the students felt for it and that came to show whenever events like this brought them all together. "Wow. Congratulations to Waterloo Road spellers. And commiserations to Forest Mount, you gave us a good fight, didn't they?" More cheering erupted and she felt herself smile so wide, her face was almost splitting into half. "I just want to give a really big thank you to our English department because they have been coaching these spellers for the past weeks and they've done a fantastic job so thank you. Let's hope that Mr Clarkson and Miss Koreshi have done just as good a job with the football team." Chants erupted, with the girls team screaming their regular *who are ya!*

"Now as you know, this has been my first year at Waterloo Road and it's been a wonderful year. Just getting to know you all and I hope you feel the same way-"

"Yeah well. They don't know the real you, do they? Not really."

The blood drained from Rachel's face as she watched Stuart enter the hall, his voice booming around her and seemingly rooting her on the spot. If she could find her voice, she's scream and shout at him to stop before it was too late. But before she could even move, it was too late already. "They don't know the truth do they, Amanda? Yeah that's her real name, see. At least it was when she was a prostitute."

Eddie wasn't sure which way to go- half of him wanted to go punch Hordley and physically kick him from the hall before he could say anything else, while the other half urged him to go to his sheet-white wife. In the end, common sense won out. Rachel needed him, and Tom and Matt were already descending on the bitter contractor.

Rachel was barely breathing, motionless with her gaze fixed on Hordley and for a moment he was genuinely concerned, touching her arm and paying no attention to Hordley yelling or the whispers and giggles of the kids. "Rach. Come on…"

But she shook her head, watching as the man was practically dragged from the hall. "No, Eddie," she murmured. "I won't lie to the kids. I won't break that trust."

Most of the staff were on their feet, a few hushing the students. Steph was looking straight at her, concern in her eyes but a calm expression on her face. Davina and Matt both looked vaguely panicked, the teachers from Forest Mount confused and horrified. Mr Cox from the science department looked faintly amused, which confused Rachel for a moment. And Eddie… Eddie didn't move from her side.

He watched, awed and proud and worried and nauseous as she revealed her deepest secret to a hall of students and teachers, head held high and her heart in her throat. And when she left, he let her go, knowing by the sheen in her eyes and the tremble in her fingers that she was close to breaking point.

And then the applause began.

Brilliant, wonderful Karla, who would never understand exactly what she'd started when she began to clap for loss of what else to do. Every child rising to their feet, teachers beaming proudly and an overwhelming sense of relief for him as he realised Rachel's worst fears would not come true.

He jumped from the stage, ordering Tom to take charge and pushed from the hall. He would go and find his wife soon enough, but he had something else to do first.

Hordley wasn't hard to track down- leant against the wall, looking a bit ruffled courtesy, Eddie assumed, of Tom and Matt. He looked up as he approached, a smirk forming as he straightened but Eddie said nothing as he sped towards him, and rammed his fist as hard as he could into his nose.

The man yelped and fell backwards against the wall, clutching at his face and drenching his sleeves with blood in the process. Eddie tore his arms away and noted with some satisfaction that he had definitely broken his nose, hand wrapping around his throat to pin him in place. "Every single child in their just gave Rachel a standing ovation," he said conversationally, and watched in pleasure as the man's brow furrowed, disbelieving and angry. "If anything, I think you've just cemented her position as a favourite of the students."

"She's nothing but a-,"

Eddie tightened his hand, cutting off his air. "You don't want to finish that sentence," he suggested. "The only reason I haven't beaten you to a pulp, is that I intend on taking my wife out tonight to celebrate the end of term, and it would look bad if I had bloody knuckles. But I am going to say this- you come anywhere near my family again, and I'll break a lot more than your bloody nose. And what's more, I can name more than a few people who would be pinning you down, and several more who would swear we were with them at the time." He clenched his fist even harder, enjoying the red hue that the contractor was turning. "You're already going to prison for your building violations. One toe out of line, Hordley, and I'll have a mate start a rumour than you're into kids. You know what happens to those men in prison?"

He stared him in the eyes for a long moment, punctuating his point, before he released him and stepped backwards. Hordley fell to his hands and knees, gasping and spluttering. But Eddie didn't bother to look back at him as he walked away.

Rachel paced the floor of her office, her heels hitting it so hard that she was worried she's fall through the ceiling. She heard the applause, of course she did, but that didn't mean anything. She was still waiting for the fallout, for a visit from either a parent or a governor. She knew it wouldn't be long before Eddie arrived, ready to comfort her no matter what had happened in the moments after she left the hall. However, her thought process was halted when she heard the loudest bang that had ever graced her ears, and she felt her world turn on its head. She immediately opened the door and exchanged confused glances with her secretary. Rachel didn't stop to think as she left her office, glad to see that the alarms had only just begun and yet it seemed like classes were already on the move. She shouted for them to go quickly, not wanting to cause hysteria but needed them out of the school so she could get them all accounted for and check they were all safe.

Rachel herded the students down the corridor, making sure her lot were assisting Forest Mount in making it out safely. She had no idea where the fire could be, but she heard the explosion and knew that couldn't be a good sign. She saw Eddie approaching and felt complete relief in the fact that he wasn't hurt. It was the first time she'd been able to see him since she left the hall, and she felt she had so much to say. However, now was not the time and they had more important matters to attend to.

"Rachel are you okay?" Her darling husband, hundreds of kids around them but she was still his main concern.

"Yes I'm fine, what's going on?" She asked, seeing as he'd come from the opposite way and may have some answers. She moved closer to him and clung to the lapels of his jacket, needed something beneath her fingers to ground her.

"The canteen is on fire."

She quickly pressed her head to his shoulder and let out a sigh, before pulling back and shaking her head back into headteacher mode. "Is anyone hurt?"

"It's too difficult to tell."

"Come on, straight out guys." Rachel called, finally stepping away from Eddie and proceeding to call out of the students out into safety.

"Calmly please everyone, out to the assembly point!" Eddie called too in support, knowing that Rachel already wouldn't be leaving until she could see that all kids were out safe. "I'll go check Science, you do English and we'll meet back here?" He offered, knowing they'd all feel better if they'd quickly checked the classrooms they had yet to pass.

Rachel nodded and pulled Eddie back to her before he could leave, pressing a hard kiss to his lips before practically running towards the classrooms in her desperation to get out.

"All clear?" They met again in the middle of the corridors, grateful to have found each other again amongst the madness.

Eddie simply wanted to leave the school now, the alarms ringing in his head as he ached to escape and take Rachel away from any potential harm. "Yeah." He was scared, terrified of the heat he could feel building around him the longer they stayed in the building.

"Okay, I'm going to do one last sweep just in case."

"Well I'll come with you."

"No no no, you get to the assembly point, I'll be right behind you."

"Absolutely not."

"Eddie I need to.."

"Nothing Rachel, you need to do nothing. You need to come with me so I know you're safe." Eddie practically begged, already gripping onto Rachel and trying to pull her to the main doors.

Rachel stood her ground, digging her heels in as she looked to Eddie with wide eyes. She felt torn, not knowing the best corse of action to take. "I think Stuart's in here. I haven't seen him." She knew he should be her last concern, but even after everything, she would never wish harm on even her worst enemy. She'd seem many people pass her on the way out, had taken relief in how many students and staff she had seen out of the main door. Knew the staff had registers, that students would be accounted for quickly but Stuart had stalked off and she had no idea where to.

Eddie stopped himself from rolling his eyes, knowing it was not the time for a domestic. The smoke was starting to surround them, the heat coming closer as they stood just a few feet away from the blazing canteen. "Listen to me, we can cope with a lot of things." He grabbed onto the top of her arms, ensuring he had her full attention before continuing. "We can survive anything because we're strong together. How can I do that without you? I need you Rachel, I love you. Now come with me while we check on the kids and the staff, we'll send the experts in to deal with that piece of shit if he's in here." Luckily, his speech worked. The next time he tried to move them both, Rachel came willingly. She knew he was right, knew it wasn't worth risking her life for, no matter how much she loved her job. She had a husband, a stepson, people that depended on her. It was her job as headmistress to go outside and ensure all students were safe and ticked off the register, and the thought of doing just had her moving along with Eddie and finally breathing the fresh air as they pushed their way out of the main doors.

All checks were done, Davina safely being escorted away to get the help she needed with Tom by her side. Chlo was back in the arms of Donte, and Bolton was being coddled by his mother after getting himself and the other students out from where they'd been trapped. Everyone had been counted, all lists ticked and checks done. Firefighters were looking for Stuart, as he was the only one yet to be seen. Rachel stood by Eddie, tears in her eyes as they watched the school burn, half of the place in flames as firefighters worked tirelessly to tackle the ongoing fire. Rachel sagged against Eddie, one arm around Steph too as they watched the place they loved so much collapse before their eyes.

"It's alright everyone, nobody was hurt, that's the important thing." She turned to face the school, a sea of heartbroken faces looking back at her.

"But Waterloo Road won Miss, the spelling bee and..." One of year year 10s spoke, a lump in her throat as she struggled to comprehend the day. They were supposed to be celebrating, and now there wasn't even a building to celebrate in.

Janeece shoved her, tears in her eyes as she looked back to her headteacher. "Are you blind? There is no Waterloo Road."

"Yes there is! There is a Waterloo Road." Rachel shouted back fiercely, her voice travelling over the noise around them and gathering the attention of more people as she continued. "There always will be. Haven't we proved to ourselves that this school is not just a building? It's each and every one of you. Fantastic kids, dedicated staff. And it's me, it's this headteacher."

"And it's me." Eddie joined her side, taking her hand and standing proudly by her. Students were starting to be collected, but many still remained and he knew they were scared. He felt Rachel's hand shake in his, but as he looked back at the fire blazing behind him, he found himself grateful that he was able to have her beside him. She wanted to do another sweep, and that could have been minutes in there too long. The roof caved only moments after the two of them had left through the main doors, and he couldn't bear

to think about what could have happened if she'd been left inside.

"And me." Steph held her other hand and faced the kids, before a chorus of students joined in. Rachel felt pride surge in her chest as she tightened her grip on Eddie's hand, her students looking to them for support and guidance as their world fell around them.

"Waterloo Road." The chants began, and the events of the day were forgotten. This was still her school, these were still her students. The building would need to be redone, but she would still return with Eddie by her side and face any obstacles that came their way. No fire, no amount of blackmail, no threats or attempts to bully her out of her position were going to change that. Rachel Lawson was made of strong stuff, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon. Not when she had so much to live for, so many people counting on her and the support of her husband. Stuart Hordley has tried his hardest to take all of this away from her, yet she stood ahead of all these people and still had their attention. She had their support, their respect and she couldn't ask for much more. She was lucky, and she'd appreciate just how much every single day.


End file.
